Indigenous Liberation Festival | Archive
As the coalition of Indigenous Liberation grew stronger and support was mobilized there was the development of organizing an Indigenous Liberation festival in 2022. Here, ongoing struggles against colonialism, as well as public remembering of historical wrongs had a stage to galvanize people into forging a decolonial community with special interest in serving the Indigenous diaspora and strengthening solidarity with Indigenous frontline communities.
2024 – Manifesting Indigenous Perspectives
14 October 2024, Pakhuis de Zwijger, Amsterdam
2024 PROGRAM
Round-table conversations:
Table N1: Ending Indigenous Ecocide/Genocide
How can we understand the process of ecocide/genocide through an Indigenous lens? And in what way does the military complex play a role in facilitating this colonial erasure, extraction economy and neo-colonialism? Meet organisers Maria Derey from Free West Papua Campaign NL and Chihiro Geuzebroek from Aralez & Indigenous Dreams.
Table N2: Legal rights and position of Indigenous Peoples worldwide
What is the legal position of Indigenous People in law? How are they or are they not recognised in law as caretakers of Mother Earth? How can we better translate their right to self-determination in national and international law? Meet Leo van der Vlist from Nederlands Centrum voor Inheemse Volkeren and Cesar Taguba from MABIKAS foundation.
Table N3: Migration, belonging and living together from Indigenous perspectives
How can we re-imagine our sense of belonging to the earth and each other in community from Indigenous perspectives? And how can we re-shape the way we look at migration and its racialised policies in Europe when moving from other value systems? Can these perspectives provide alternative visions for the current far right ideologies that are becoming dominant? Meet Myra Colis from MABIKAs foundation.
Table N4: Preserving Indigenous language, culture and identity
Come join us in a musical jam and creative writing session. In this workshop we will be creating a new song together about culture, language and identity. You are welcome to bring your own instruments, talents and ideas to share with the group. At the end of the program, we will have the chance to share our song with the rest of the World Cafe. Meet Leander Vermaning from Wasjikwa, Jeike Meijer from Aralez and Victor Bottenbley and Sherlien Sanches from Stichting Inheems Kennis Centrum Internationaal who will be facilitating the session.
Table N5: Towards territorial economies of care and self-determination
Many products enter the market through the theft of Indigenous land and resources, what would a just system of trade look like that is in service of ancestral territories, their cultures and future generations? And how can we strengthen local communities in ethical ways? Meet Jorge & Juliana from Tribes Movement and Eduardo Caceres Salgado from Mas Newen.
2024 INDIGENOUS PERSPECTIVES FESTIVAL
In this year the festival took place with a focus to tend to the needs of diasporic Indigenous people in Netherlands. Nobody had pursued funding for this year and many organizations had felt the landscape of Indigenous organizing shift in the past year with tensions; sometimes personal, sometimes organizational and sometimes because of differences in regard to attitudes and vision around funding or partnerships with institutions. To focus on working together for the bigger purpose of revitalization of culture, creating alternative economic relations of fair practice and fighting to end genocide and ecocide in Indigenous territories. The festival took place as usual at Pakhuis de Zwijger. Besides ceremony and music the focus was on round tables to speak with one another on the themes identified as priority conversations. The pictures of this year are not by a professional photographer but taken on our phones. This festival was important to strengthen collaborations locally.
Organizing partners included: Tribes Movement, Mabikas Foundation, NCIV Mas Newen, Free West Papua, Aralez, Inheems Kennis Centrum IKC, Wasjikwa and was moderated by Ayesha Slater, a proud Yirrganydji woman of the Djabugay nation.
*Name change from Indigenous Liberation to Indigenous Perspectives was due to the appropriation of the name by Chautuileo Tranamil. As the coalition prefers to aim its energy to the fight against colonialism than dispute names another name was chosen. As of 2024 the name Indigenous Liberation Movement no longer is used by the coalition of parties but used as a brand by an individual.
12 October 2023, Pakhuis de Zwijger, Amsterdam
2023 PROGRAM
19:30-20:00 ~ Market place & walk-in
Half an hour before you can already walk-in. We will have a market place where you can buy traditional hand crafts from Indigenous and Marron communities. Amongst other’s there will be a stand of Aralez , Tribes Movement, Majeeda and Wasjikwa
20:00-20:45 ~ Plenary Opening/Plenaire Opening “Land Back and 80/20 crowdfunding” (English)
International speaker Shermaine Morina Artist will open the evening with a keynote speech in which we will also announce the 80/20 crowdfunding campaign for indigenous frontline communities in Suriname in relation to defending their land rights and resistance against ongoing colonisation. Next to this we wil have a cultural performance by Roberto Callisaya Hilara.
20:45-21:00 ~ Time to move to Break-Out Sessions
21:00-22:00 ~ Decolonizing Agriculture and our Relationship to Land, Water and Food (English)
Colonialism has fundamentally changed the way we treat the land and how we produce and consume our food today. During this session we will analyse how traditional forms of agriculture and food systems are different from modern/colonial forms of agricultural systems and food production. Also we will talk about the way that we live with land and oceans and the way this also influences the way we build our communities and reflect on what lessons we can learn from Indigenous communities when it comes to community living and building relationship with land rather than against or on the cost of land/territory and oceans. Speakers are Henkjan Laats, Yacqueline Mijnssen, Brijlal Chaudhari and Farah Obaidullah and Max Arto de Ploeg
21:00-22:00 ~ Verboden Culturen: Herstel van Culturele Identiteiten (Dutch)
Inheemse Volkeren hebben naast structurele genocide en landroof ook te maken gehad met cultuurvernietiging en assimilatiebeleid vanuit staten en onderwijs. Tijdens deze break-out gaan we in gesprek met diverse Inheemse gemeenschappen over de impact van deze koloniale geschiedenis op hun culturele identiteiten. Daarnaast willen we het gesprek aangaan over het belang een plek in Amsterdam waar Inheemse talen, kennis en culturen kunnen worden uitgedragen en doorgegeven aan toekomstige generaties. Want hoe komt het dat er geen plek is voor Inheemse Amsterdammers om hun cultuur te kunnen uitdragen maar dat dit er wel is voor andere geloofs en levensbeschouwingen? We gaan in gesprek met Sherlien Sanches, José Tojo, Said Bouddouft en Angelique Arrindell-Stjura
21:00-22:00 ~ Indigenous Dreams Expo: Imagining our Self-Determination (English)
This year we will have our second edition of the Indigenous Dreams Exposition with interviews and photos of Indigenous diaspora in the Netherlands. The project aims to make visible the existence and experiences of communities and ancestors that have been made invisible due to colonialism and nation states. Complimentary to the photo exposition we will go into conversation with the Indigenous participants of the exhibition and visitors to discuss the meaning of self-determination from an Indigenous perspective. The exposition and dialogue is produced by Chihiro Geuzebroek & Mia Tengco. During this session you can enter into dialogue with Ayesha Slater, Richard Toppo, Shanthuru Premkumar, Juan Manque, Roberto Calisaya, Semuel Sahureka.
21:00-22:00 ~ Defending the Earth Defenders: in Solidarity with Frontline Communities (English)
It is a global problem that our caretakers of mother earth who are the frontline Earth defenders of our ecosystems are being killed by security companies and states to make room for multinational companies. During this break-out session we will go into smaller circle conversations with human rights organisations, Indigenous diaspora and solidarity organisations. The goal of the session is to see how we can support the frontline communities and support existing campaigns that aim to protect our earth defenders. Join us together with Shermaine Morina Artist, Chautuileo Tranamil, Daniel Esteban and Cesar Taguba
22:00-22:15 ~ Time to return to the Plenary event
22:15-23:00 ~ Closing “Cultural Performances”
During the plenary closing we will shortly reflect on the break-out sessions after which we will have closing performances with two cultural groups. During the closing performances the audience is invited to dance with us. The first group will be a community dance shared by MABIKAs Foundation Consisting of Indigenous Igorotpeople’s from the Philippine Cordillera region. They will also explain the cultural meanings and tradition behind their unity dance. The second group will be Ibou & friends which will share with us traditional west African Rhythms and dance through djembe, balafon and Dunun.
2023 INDIGENOUS LIBERATION FESTIVAL
In the run-up for the festival, Aralez organized an 80-20 campaign. Since Indigenous peoples today make up 6% of the global population but protect 80% of the remaining biodiversity and receive less than 1% of climate finance for environmental justice work, this campaign aimed to promote the idea and practice of giving Indigenous frontline communities 80% of fundraising done with the 80-20 campaign. With the 80-20 fundraiser, we aimed to model a fair practice to showcase for NGO’s and other institutions to follow; a fair practice that is not practiced yet.
In 2023, the fundraiser was aimed to financially support female Indigenous leadership in Suriname. We raised € 4,200 and the recipient of the donations, Sharmaine Morina, has used the funds for educational purposes and awareness raising in Suriname.
THANK YOU TO ALL ALLIES WHO DONATED TO THE CAMPAIGN!
16 October 2022, Pakhuis de Zwijger, Amsterdam
2022 PROGRAM
Plenary opening with International Speakers | 19:30-20:15
19:30-19:35 Walk-in
19:35-19:40 General Introduction Raki Ap (Moderator)
19:40-19:55 Keynote Speaker 1 Chief Dada
19:55-19:57 Kick-off 80/20- campaign
19:57-20:13 Keynote Speaker 2 Esther Stanford-Xosei
20:13-20:15 Explain break-out rooms.
Short break & moving to workshops and panels | 20:15-20:30
Break-out activities with workshops, panels, dialogues and art | 20:30-21:30
During this part you can go to one of our five break-out room sessions. Below you can find a short description of the activities and themes, more detailed information will follow later. The events are in English or Dutch, sometimes mixed. Find the different workshops below:
Intergenerational Dialogue on maintaining identities | 20:30-21:30
During the dialogue we will speak with different generations of Indigenous diaspora in the Netherlands. How do they stay in touch with their Indigenous roots? What are challenges and how can we reconnect with our Indigenous identities when we are living in urban settings? This dialogue will be lead by Leander Vermaning from Wasjikwa with Mallika Sille and Olivia Williams (Dutch).
Cultures of Resistance | 20:30-21:30
By Arts of Resistance. During this panel we will learn more about the way colonialism has impacted Indigenous cultures and the way resistance has been nurtured by culture. The programme will consist of both cultural performances as well as talks with, amongst others, Aymara flute player Roberto Callisaya Hilara and dancer and co-founder of MABIKAs Foundation Myra Collis.
(English)
Workshop Healing from Intergenerational-trauma | 20:30-21:30
Workshop bu by Navaya Real Castillo co-founder of Nali Vena, and The Nativa Collective. During this participatory workshop you will learn more about intergenerational trauma specifically how to define and recognise it. Also tools and reflections for making steps in the process of repairing and healing ourselves and our communities are provided. (English)
The Indigenous dreams expo | 20:30-21:30
This expo will portray 10 Indigenous women living in the Netherlands accompanied by interviews on their Indigenous dreams healing and dealing with colonial nightmares. During the expo visitors are invited to join a circle talk to share thoughts on how we imagine a future in line with Indigenous values? (English)
International Solidarity Circles for reparatory justice | 20:30-21:30
By Aralez. During the solidarity circles you will be able to speak with Indigenous diaspora from West Papua, Philippines, and the Molukken. During the interactive circles people will tell more about their homeland situation and how we can better organise solidarity from the Netherlands with different front-line communities. How do we repair the damage done and prevent further colonisation? Solidarity circles are ideal for people wanting to support existing campaigns of Indigenous communities. (Mix: English/Dutch)
Plenary closing | 21:45-22:00
During the plenary closing some of the outcomes of the different break-outs are shared and final reflections of the day are given, as well as a call to action.
Cultural performances | 22:00-23:00
During this last hour there will be a collective closing with two Indigenous cultural groups performing. Expect music and dancing! The first groups is Kuryzara, meaning golden maize, a Kichwa dance group from Ecuador will share with us traditional dances from different regions. The second performance will be done by Wayamu Woreyan, a women’s cultural Sambura collective. Wayamu Woreyan means female turtle’s, they stand for unity and love towards Indigenous cultures.
2022 INDIGENOUS LIBERATION FESTIVAL
In 2022, Aralez first organized the 80-20 campaign for the Maro People living in what today is known as Brazil. The coalition was able to bring Chief Dada over to the Netherlands where he was able to bring stories from the frontline to a capital of empire: Amsterdam.
For Chief Dada, we raised € 2,000 and the funds were used to buy technologies to monitor illegal lodging in their ancestral territories.
To read more about the campaign for the Maro people read this article (Dutch). To read more about the 80-20 campaign see this article (Dutch).
The 2022 festival also included a dinner in which over 100 people participated. The coalition of Indigenous Liberation partners thanks Milieudefensie, Stimuleringsfonds creative industrie, AFK and the Ilona Fonds for their generous support.
THANK YOU TO ALL ALLIES WHO DONATED TO THE CAMPAIGN!
INDIGENOUS DREAMS 